Okinawa

We’re moving to Okinawa!

Okinawa (沖縄) is part of the Ryukyu Islands (琉球諸島). One food that we are excited to try to grow is the (purple!) Okinawan sweet potato. They also have the Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus) a type of huge fruit bat. The group is known as the megabats!

We got a fixer-upper near Naha (那覇市) that we’re going to try to flip. I’ll post updates as we go so you can follow along. We’ll try to grow the sweet potatoes in a roof container garden and see how that goes.

Another thing that I am excited to learn more about is how to farm mozuku (Cladosiphon okamuranus). Mozuku is a seaweed that is grown in Okinawa and exported all over Japan.

We’re trying to learn some useful phrases in Japanese. It is handy to write these down on index cards and carry them around to use when appropriate.

• The meeting is in one hour.
  • 本日の会議はすべてキャンセルされました。
  • Honjitsu no kaigi wa subete kyanseru sa remashita.
• You have a nice place.
  • 家に上陸した巨大なニワトリのようです。
  • Ie ni jōriku shita kyodaina niwatori no yōdesu.
• How can I get transportation to the store?
  • 今さっき、あなたの車にぶつかっていった人がいました。
  • Ima sakki, anata no kuruma ni butsukatte itta hito ga imashita.
• You need to rest.
  • 猫の手を借りる必要はありません。それは簡単です。
  • Neko no te o kariru hitsuyō wa arimasen. Sore wa kantandesu.
• Which restaurant do you recommend?
  • あなたの車がレッカーで移動されていくのを見ました。
  • Anata no kuruma ga rekkā de idō sa rete iku no o mimashita.
• That meal was very good.
  • 私のお腹は生きたウナギが戦っているような気がします。
  • Watashi no onaka wa ikita unagi ga tatakatte iru yōna ki ga shimasu.
• I am confident I can do this.
  • 私はまな板の上の鯉です。
  • Watashi wa manaitanouenokoidesu.
• I need to mail this letter. Can you help?
  • 昨日はラブレターありがとうございました。私もあなたのことを考えています。
  • Kinō wa raburetā arigatōgozaimashita. Watashi mo anata no koto o kangaete imasu.
• I am from the United States.
  • 無料ギフトカードは建物の前で配られます。急がなければなりません。
  • Muryō gifutokādo wa tatemono no mae de kubara remasu. Isoganakereba narimasen.
• I don’t understand; can you repeat?
  • しなすびらきゃひり。
  • Sina subira kwa hili.
• This will be fun.
  • 私ヘビを見つめるカエルのような気分。
  • Watashi hebi o mitsumeru kaeru no yōna kibun.
• Thank you for your help. My family really appreciates your efforts.
  • 申し訳ありません。あなたのお気に入りのメガネを壊してしまいました。
  • Mōshiwake arimasen. Anata no okiniiri no megane o kowashite shimaimashita.
• Can you help me practice Japanese?
  • 誰かがあなたを探しています。彼らが何を言ったか忘れました。
  • Darekaga anata o sagashiteimasu. Karera ga nani o itta ka wasuremashita.

Links

• Wikipedia article about Okinawa, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_Island
• Wikipedia article about the Ryukyu islands, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryukyu_Islands
• Article about the Okinawan sweet potato, https://www.downtoearth.org/health/nutrition/okinawan-sweet-potato-purple-powerhouse-nutrition
• Wikipedia article about the Okinawan fruit bat, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryukyu_flying_fox
• Wikipedia article on megabats, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megabat
• Wikipedia article about Mozuku, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cladosiphon_okamuranus
• Wikipedia article about Hiragana, part of the Japanese writing system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiragana